Lebanon, IL - As the athletic calendar shifts closer to Football season, Head Coach Jason Rejfek has announced that he's finalized his coaching staff for the upcoming 2026 season for the Bearcats. Newcomers Logan Zacharias, Demarcus Felton, Jakob North, Dalton Franks, and Brandon Brown join returning names Thomas Jenkins, Jackson Hall, Jerrell Taylor, and Nick Zuckerman to make up the staff for the new year ahead. 

THOMAS JENKINS | ASSOCIATE HEAD COACH | OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR | QUARTERBACKS COACH
Rejfek on Jenkins:
"We are excited to elevate Coach Jenkins to the role of Offensive Coordinator. His understanding of what we do as an offense since he has been here, since we started implementing it, has helped maintain a level of continuity for our program and players. He has shown an excellent ability to lead and manage with the countless roles that he has had in our program for the last couple of years, so we expect great things from him as he moves into a full-time Offensive Coordinator role for our program." 

LOGAN ZACHARIAS | OFFENSIVE LINE COACH
Rejfek on Zacharias:
"Coach Zacharias comes to us with deep Illinois and GLVC ties. From playing at Reed-Custer as a standout Offensive Lineman to a 5-year player at Upper Iowa, he knows the state and the league. He showed an excellent acumen for the job during his time at Chadron State and will continue to build on the culture we have in our Offensive Line room." 

JACKSON HALL | WIDE RECEIVERS COACH / SPECIAL TEAMS COORDINATOR
Rejfek on Hall:
"Coach Hall did an excellent job with our Special Teams units last year as we saw great improvement in multiple statistical categories. The expectation is that we will continue to improve in all of those areas. Moving him to his college position of Wide Receivers, he is going to bring his attention to detail in the technique of the position to allow that group to continue to excel as they have in the past." 

DEMARCUS FELTON | RUNNING BACKS COACH
Rejfek on Felton:
"Coach Felton is bringing with him experience in our scheme from his time at Chadron State and Texas Tech to help continue the success that our Running Back room has had over these last couple of years. Playing the position at an extremely high level in college and showing his ability to coach and manage the room at Chadron will help us to replace Eddie Clark. We are excited about the energy and excitement he will bring to the group." 

JAKOB NORTH | TIGHT ENDS COACH
Rejfek on North:
"Coach North is coming over from Findlay, where he worked with the Outside Linebackers. He was a standout Offensive Lineman at Augustana College and is another Coach extremely familiar with Illinois and the quality of football we have in the state. Coach North's desire to learn and instill the principles of what being a McKendree Bearcat is to our tight end room excites us about how those young men will develop." 

DALTON FRANKS | DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR / LINEBACKERS COACH
Rejfek on Franks:
"Coach Franks comes with a wealth of experience at the High School, DII, FCS, and FBS levels. Coaching at Missouri Western, Missouri State, and Coastal Carolina, he brings a new perspective to what we do as a defense. The knowledge and adjustments that he has shown with our coaching staff and with our players will allow our defense and our linebacker room to continue to grow." 

JERRELL TAYLOR | SAFETIES COACH / DEFENSIVE PASS GAME COORDINATOR / RECRUITING COORDINATOR
Rejfek on Taylor:
"Coach Taylor did a great job in helping us build our 2026 recruiting class, and we are excited for him to spearhead working on our 2027 class as well. He has shown the ability to relate and teach our safeties how we do things, but also the game of football. We are excited to add the role of Pass Game Coordinator to his list of duties as he continues to grow here at McKendree."

BRANDON BROWN | CORNERBACKS COACH
Rejfek on Brown:
"Coach Brown comes to McKendree from Carson Newman, and his technical ability at the position is going to show great improvement in our corners room. His experience working in multiple systems at Carson Newman and as a player at Central Michigan University allows him to share his wealth of knowledge with our players and be extremely additive to our defensive staff." 

NICK ZUCKERMAN | DEFENSIVE ASSISTANT
Rejfek on Zuckerman:
"Coach Zuckerman moves to the defensive side of the ball this year to help his continued growth as a coach. Having his insight on what offenses do and why they do it will be a great addition to the defensive staff in terms of building what we do and our game planning." 

2026 SEASON OPENER
@ Saginaw Valley State Cardinals (0-0)
Thursday, August 27th, 2026 - 6:00 PM CST
at Wickes Memorial Stadium - University Center, MI